New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said Friday he was doing everything in his power to bring down the city’s rising homicide rate even as he defended his approach to policing.

“I every day go over the crime statistics carefully and I’m in constant contact with the NYPD. Obviously I take the situation very, very seriously,” Mr. de Blasio said on WNYC’s “The Brian Lehrer Show” Friday morning.

There have been 135 homicides this year compared to 110 last year. Shootings were up 8.9% to 439 from 403 through the end of May, according to city data. Read More »

Christine Quinn, the former City Council speaker who lost to Mayor Bill de Blasio for mayor in 2013, returned to City Hall Friday–but didn’t stay long.

In the sweltering afternoon heat, Ms. Quinn stood on the steps for a rally to raise the minimum wage to $15 for all fast food workers. With her hands clasped, she alternately smiled and fanned her face, hugging several members of the City Council and commiserating with some of the demonstrators over the heat.

She was briefly acknowledged as “the former speaker” by Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, who departed before Ms. Quinn began her remarks.

“It’s good to see the City Hall steps are still the hottest place on Earth,” Ms. Quinn said, before delivering a fiery address. Read More »

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio lays out his 10-year approach to fixing New York City’s ailing public housing authority in an appearance Tuesday.

Spencer Platt/Getty Images

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s trip to Staten Island on Thursday began promisingly enough.

He arrived early, sailing in light traffic around 10:30 a.m. across the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge to meet state Sen. Andrew Lanza for a double espresso.

A little while later, he donned a hard hat with city Department of Transportation workers at an event to announce he would add $242 million for road resurfacing citywide. The news means a lot on Staten Island, where many residents drive.

As the mayor shoveled hot asphalt into the street, city workers cheered. Read More »

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio speaks during a news conference in the Bronx Wednesday.

Seth Wenig/Associated Press

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said Wednesday he opposed the death penalty in the Boston Marathon bombing trial and believes life in prison should be the most severe form of punishment imposed in any criminal case, including terrorist attacks.

Mr. de Blasio, the city’s first Democratic mayor in 20 years, said he is a lifelong opponent of the death penalty. One of his predecessors, Rudy Giuliani, a Republican, famously said he wanted to be the one to execute Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, World Trade Center attacks.

On Tuesday, the punishment phase began in the Boston trial of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who was convicted this month on all 30 charges in connection with the 2013 bombings at the marathon. The same jury that convicted Mr. Tsarnaev must decide if he is sentenced to death or to life in prison without a chance of release. Read More »

Education activists unveil a “mixed” report card for New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio on Sunday, grading him based on how many campaign promises he has delivered.

Mark Morales/The Wall Street Journal

An advocacy group released their assessment of New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s performance on education issues Sunday, giving him a “mixed” report card with letter grades ranging from A to F reflecting, how it views his effort on make good on campaign promises.

NYC KidsPac, a group of parent activists, gave the mayor a wide range of scores–from ‘A’s for permitting cell phones in schools and halting school closures, to an ‘F’ on transparency and accountability as well as class size. Read More »

Rev. Al Sharpton, left, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, center, and Congressman Charlie Rangel sit at the speakers’ table during the 16th National Action Network

Bebeto Matthews/Associated Press

Mayor Bill de Blasio described on Wednesday the video of a white police officer shooting a black man in North Charleston, S.C., as “so disturbing and so painful,” weighing in on another high-profile police confrontation that ended in death.

“You can’t watch that as a human being and not feel pain,” said Mr. de Blasio, referring to the South Carolina video, during remarks Wednesday morning at the annual convention of the National Action Network, the civil-rights group led by the Rev. Al Sharpton. “It makes no sense according to what our core notions of humanity and decency and justice are.”

On Tuesday in South Carolina, the officer, Michael Slager, 33 years old, was charged with murder after video evidence surfaced showing him shooting Walter Scott, 50, following a traffic stop Saturday. The video showed the officer firing eight times as Mr. Scott fled; an attorney who briefly represented Mr. Slager said the officer felt threatened after Mr. Scott managed to gain control of his Taser.

The mayor said Wednesday the video prompted his heart to skip a beat. “It’s very difficult to look at something like that and watch someone’s life taken away before your very eyes,” he said. Read More »

Victor Gotbaum, at a news conference June 8, 1971, during a strike by municipal employees of New York City who operated drawbridges. The strike was called to protest the state legislature’s not approving a proposed pension plan and created massive traffic jams for commuters.

John Lent/Associated Press

Mayor Bill de Blasio on Monday hailed union leader Victor Gotbaum as “a true New York City warrior,” who dedicated his life to organizing workers and improving their lives. Read More »

A union leader will become New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s next chief of staff, the mayor’s office said Monday.

Thomas Snyder, a top official at Unite Here, a union that represents workers in a variety of industries, including hotels, gaming and food service, will succeed Laura Santucci, who is taking a job overseas with the United Nations. Read More »

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio plans Monday to join mayors from around the country in Boston to denounce possible cuts in federal transportation funding, which could cost the New York metropolitan region as much as $2 billion annually. Read More »